Daughter of the Dark Lord
by Bellatrix567
Summary: Voldemort, Bellatrix and Nagini sense danger at the Great Battle of Hogwarts and flee, leaving imposters in their places. The three move to Albania, where Bellatrix has a daughter named Kamara. They live a somewhat quiet life until Kamara turns eleven, and Voldemort insists they all move back to England so she can go to Hogwarts, but putting the rest of the family in danger.
1. Chapter 1: Goodbye, Albania

Daughter of the Dark Lord

**Consider this the 8th Harry Potter book, except it's about Kamara rather than Harry. Everything in the books happened the way it did (I explain how Voldemort and Bellatrix are still alive in the second chapter). I didn't put a description of what happened in the books here, so you'll understnad it much better if you've already read the books.  
**

** Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. J.K. Rowling owns the magical boa constrictor Nagini in the Harry Potter books. I own the Rare and Venomous Albanian Snake with the same name, who replaces the boa constrictor in Daughter of the Dark Lord. The name 'Nagini' is not owned by J.K. Rowling, it is the female version of the Naga, which are people who worship and can turn into snakes in mythology. I do not own the idea that Nagini is Voldemort's snake and Horcrux****.** I do own Kamara, but if I were to make money off her I would have to change nearly everything about her other than that she can talk to snakes and how she looks. I do fully own Occidere, Sanguinem, and Caligo, and if you copy them I will track you down and ensure you die a very painful and gruesome death.

**Now, on with the story...  
**

Chapter One

Goodbye, Albania!

"Kamara, it's time to go," Dad called from the door, as if it had been him who had been waiting three hours instead of me. I rolled up the letter I was writing and closed _A Guide To Rare Snakes of Albania_, hurrying to the door.

"What were you doing?" Dad asked me.

"Writing a letter to whoever wrote that book," I said. He knew exactly which book I meant, given the fact I had been going over every little incorrect fact inside it with Nagini over the past week.

"Again?" he asked wearily. "Give the poor guy a rest, he doesn't have to be perfect."

"The last time I wrote to him was when I was eight," I said. "Is Mom coming?" I asked as he turned toward the door.

"No."

We walked down the road toward the little, secluded village nearby. It always seems to annoy Dad that we live nearly two miles (so much, right?) from the nearest village, but he was the one who chose the house. After we walked ten feet, he decided to Apparate.

I've always liked living not-exactly-close to the village. I don't have any friends there, mainly due to my looks (my eyes are red like Dad's, but thankfully my pupils aren't vertical, I'm super pale, my lips are very thin. At least I'm not bald like him, too).

Dad made directly for the wand shop.

"Wasn't I supposed to get a wand in England?" I asked. Dad had been saying for a while that I wouldn't have one of those 'strange, Albanian wands'.

"Change of plans," he said. "I'm going to teach you Dark Magic before you start school."

We entered the wand shop. I've seen it before, of course, but I've never actually entered it. Rows upon rows of thin boxes lined the shelves, and more still were stacked on the floor all around.

"Good morning, Mr. Lestrange," I jumped at the voice coming from right behind me. A man with long black hair and silvery-purple eyes shut the door behind us with a snap.

"Come to get your daughter a wand, I suppose?" asked the man, striding to the front of the room. Dad nodded curtly, adding "And I'd like phoenix feather, unicorn hair, dragon heartstring - something like that. No Veela hair."

"Very well, very well," said the man, who, unlike most wandmakers, was quite young. "But it's really the wand who chooses the wizard, I say." He took a few boxes off the shelves, adding absentmindedly "My name's Magnus."

He put the seven boxes he'd taken off the shelves on what appeared to be a table, but I realized it was just more boxes stacked on top of one another. He must really like making wands.

Opening one box, Magnus extracted a wand and handed it to me, reading off the label "Maple, veela hair - oh, your father wouldn't like that." He took the wand back, which hadn't felt right to me anyway, and replaced it in the box. He then took out another one, gave it to me, and read "Oak, Manticore hair, eleven and a quarter inches."

I waved the wand slightly. Nothing happened.

"Try this one: willow, it has the feather of a winged horse, ten and a half inches."

I waved it; nothing happened.

Magnus had me try all the wands he brought out. When none of them seemed right, he went and got more. I was starting to wonder exactly how long this would take when finally, after forty-seven wands, Magnus thrust one into my hand, reading "Banana tree, harpy tail feather, thirteen and three quarter inches."

Dad snorted at the type of wood from which this wand was made, but I felt a sudden warmth as the wand was pushed into my hand, and brought it down triumphantly, producing a shower of green sparks.

"Take this," said Magnus, handing Dad the box my wand was in. "That'll be seven Galleons." Dad handed him the gold, and we left the store.

"What else do we need to get?" I asked.

"Not much else," he said. "You'll get your school booklist when we go to England..."

We stopped to get groceries, and I restocked our flyers for the Save the Rare and Venomous Giant Albanian Snake Society. It would probably be more popular if Nagini's species was something like the green anaconda or reticulated python. No one's going to remember the 'Venomous Giant Albanian Snake'.

Mom was waiting for us when we got home.

"Look, Mom!" I said ha ppily, showing her my wand.

"You got her a wand already, my Lord?" Mom ignored me and addressed the question to Dad.

"Yes," he said, dumping the grocery bags on the sofa. "I told you, I'm teaching her Dark Magic over the summer. And stop with the 'my Lord' thing, will you?" He tells her not to call him 'my Lord' about twenty times a day, but for some reason Mom just can't get out of the habit.

"But you'll only have two weeks, my Lord. After that we're moving to England."

"I know, Bella, and because it's me who made the plans, you'd think I'd remember them," he snapped. She looked slightly abashed, the way she always does when Dad snaps at her.

I walked outside, hoping to find Nagini and show her my new wand. Maybe she'd notice me enough to actually say something.

I'm used to Mom and Dad talking about me as if I wasn't there all the time, but it doesn't stop me from getting agitated every time they do so.

I found Nagini hanging from a tree not too far from the house. She usually stays inside around Dad or me, but when we're not at home and she doesn't get to come along, she'll take to hanging out in the forest which surrounds our house. Mom and Nagini have never gotten along very well, and Mom can't speak Parseltongue anyway.

"_Hey, Nagini!_" I called up to the snake as I started to climb the tree.

"_Hi_," she hissed in a bored voice. "_What took you so long? I thought you were just getting a wand..."_

_ "Dad wanted to buy groceries while we were there,"_ I said, shrugging.

She lifted her head off a branch as I managed to sit next to her, twenty feet off the ground.

Nagini is my only real friend. As I said, I don't have any human friends, because they either don't like me or are afraid of me.

As for Mom and Dad... Mom has always been obsessively in love with Dad, always calling him 'my Lord' or 'Master'. This greatly annoys him, and, considering that her 'only purpose is to serve him', you'd think she'd start calling him Marvolo or Voldemort by now, but she hasn't.

Dad doesn't _really_ care about me. He doesn't _really_ care about anyone. Nagini said that he used to love Mom, really love her, but after they moved to Albania and had me, he just got really, really annoyed with her. Constantly. It hasn't changed.

"_So, have you learned any magic yet?"_ Nagini asked.

"_I just got it, I haven't had any time to practice,"_ I replied, smiling. At least someone appreciated me._ "But I did read about these simple spells yesterday..."_ I trailed off, trying to remember how to cast the _Lumos _charm.

After a few tries, the end of my wand lighted up for a minute, but the light extinguished quickly. After a few more minutes of trying, I could make the light stay for about thirty seconds.

"_What does that do?"_ Nagini asked.

"_It just lights up the end of your wand,"_ I said,

shrugging. _"So you can see in the dark, you know. It's a simple charm, I thought I'd try it..."_ She continued to watch me as I continued to practice. Holding my wand steady, I managed to make the light stay for a whole minute, and I probably would have managed longer, if Nagini's niece Caligo hadn't chose that particular moment to fall on top of me.

Fortunately, Caligo was only six months old and therefore wasn't as big as her 300-pound aunt. I caught the little snake easily and put her on my lap.

"_Took you mom's wand again?"_ she asked, smirking.

"_No, this one's mine,"_ I said proudly._ "I just got it."_

"_And she _was_ doing magic before someone jumped on her,"_ chuckled Nagini.

"_It was an _accident, _you would have fallen too if you were on those tiny branches,"_ said Caligo.

"_Actually, I'd have fallen way before that, but I'd have the sense not to climb out on a couple of twigs and expect them to support me,"_ Nagini said, but she wasn't paying attention. She was staring at an alligator swimming twenty feet below us.

"_D'you think I could get it from here?"_ she asked.

"_What, that? You'd break your neck!"_ I said.

"_Try it,"_ said Caligo, probably only to disagree with me. She likes to pick fights... well, arguments.

Nagini slithered across me to a branch farther down the tree. I followed her with Caligo draped across my shoulders, blinking often in the sunlight.

Nagini was still moving lower, stopping when she was five feet from the ground, and right above the alligator. She was preparing to strike when I accidently broke a branch and fell to the ground.

The alligator looked up and started toward me, its gaze murderous, but I merely turned back to the tree. No matter how adept alligators are in the water, they're no good at climbing trees.

"_Back off!"_ I yelled at him. _"Go back in the water!"_

"_Eat you... crush you... kill you..."_ Alligators were never known for their intelligence. Well, they're not dumb compared to most reptiles, but they have nothing of Nagini's intelligence. Venomous Giant Albanian Snakes are just as smart as humans, making them the smartest reptiles alive.

"_Thanks, Kamara, I was going to eat him,"_ Nagini said irritably as the alligator walked away sulking.

"_You ate last week."_

"_But that was, like, the world's tiniest badger. Ever. You can't expect me to live on that for the next four weeks."_

Caligo lost interest in the conversation and left. There wasn't much for me to do here either, and I get so bored of just sitting in a tree, staring off into space for hours on end. I can't think how Nagini does it.

"_C'mon, let's go home,"_ I said to her._ "I've got to finish writing a letter to Mr. Smith."_

When we got there, Mom was cooking dinner and chatting to Dad. As usual, they barely even noticed I was there. I took Nagini into the library with me and pulled out a book on simple spells.

"_Viridi Anguis!"_ I shouted. A few sparks flew from my wand.

"_Is that what it's supposed to do?"_ Nagini asked, sounding amused.

"_It's _supposed _to make a serpent made entirely out of sparks,"_ I said, showing her the illustration.

I practiced spells for another hour or so. After five minutes, I made a snake about the size of Caligo (three and a half feet long), and moved on to the next spell.

"Kamara," I heard Dad call me from the dining room.

"What?"

"It's time for dinner. Stop destroying the library and get over here!"

I marked my page and put the book away, feeling immensely satisfied. I was finally able to do magic!

Nagini followed me to the table and curled around an empty seat. I sat down and instantly began to eat; I was starving.

"Kamara, because we're leaving in two weeks, I want to begin your Dark Arts lessons immediately," said Dad.

"Can't we just stay in Albania longer?" I asked hopefully.

"No, we can't. You have to go to Hogwarts and Hogwarts is in England. We're moving there to be closer to Hogwarts."

"But why do I have to go to Hogwarts?" I persisted, even though we'd had this argument before, many times.

He sighed. "It's probably the best wizarding school in the world, Kamara, and I happen to be a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, one of the Founders of Hogwarts. That's why you and me can..."

"...Speak Parseltongue. I _know_, Dad. You've only told me about eighty times today."

"Don't you disrespect your father like..." Mom began, but he cut her off.

"I can discipline her myself, Bella!"

"_You know, Voldemort, Kamara's her daughter, too,"_ said Nagini.

"_Nagini, shut up."_

"_You're very polite, aren't you?"_ she hissed. Mom was looking from Nagini to Dad, as if expecting one of them to translate for her. She's the only one in the family who can't speak Parseltongue.

I finished eating quickly and went back to the library. Maybe I could finish that letter before Dad was ready to start my lessons...

But I had barely wrote one sentence when I heard him calling me again. I picked up my wand and went to the living room, where the sofa had been pushed to one side of the room to make space for us to practice.

Dad was waiting with Nagini and Mom.

"This week, I'm going to teach you some basic offensive spells," he said, taking out his wand. "And next week, you'll learn Dark Magic. I want you to practice the Killing Curse before you start school."

"The Killing Curse? But, Dad, I'm only eleven."

"I could kill when I was sixteen, I don't see why you shouldn't be able to do so a bit sooner."

I've never looked forward to killing. Sure, I'd be fine with the Imperius Curse, but I don't plan to cast the other two Unforgivable Curses. I don't mind getting into fights, but to kill someone?

"This is the Stinging Hex," he said, pointing his wand at Mom. I gasped as what looked like huge wasp stings appeared all over her. Dad's face showed no pity as he removed the jinx.

"Yes... my Lord... wonderful," Mom said hoarsely.

"Now you try it," Dad said to me, ignoring Mom. "The incantation is 'aculeumus'."

I drew my wand uncertainly and pointed it at Mom. She glared at me.

"_Aculeumus!"_ I shouted, pointing my wand at Dad as I said it. He was covered in tiny bee stings.

"KAMARA! How dare you..."

"You were supposed to curse me!"

"Don't ever do that again!"

Nagini was laughing.

"Do what?" I asked innocently as Dad performed the counter-curse.

"Didn't you see you were supposed to curse your mother instead of me!"

"_You're very caring,"_ said Nagini. _"Are you going to demonstrate the Killing Curse on her, too?"_

"_No, but I will on you if you don't stop."_

"_Sure you would, you'd be killing your last Horcrux."_

"Kamara, try again. On Nagini."

"_Thanks."_

"_Your welcome,"_ he snapped. Nagini was clearly annoying him.

"_Aculeumus!" _I cried, purposely missing Nagini.

"Kamara, it's not going to kill her," Dad said impatiently.

"It's not going to kill you either," I said.

"Kamara, if you curse your father one more time, I'll..."

"_I bet she's really scared,"_ said Nagini. And she's right. Mom has always wanted to use curses (even the Unforgivable ones) as a form of punishment, but Dad never lets her. He sometimes uses minor jinxes on me himself, which I find extremely annoying, but I've never been afraid of my 'll never do something to me that'll leave lasting damage.

"_She should be afraid,"_ Dad snapped at Nagini.

"_Whatever you say,"_ Nagini said, slithering out of the room.

"Okay, fine, you win. I'll find some animal or something for you to practice with."

"No way! Do you really think I'm going to curse innocent creatures for no reason?"

"Yes, I do! And if you don't..."

"I like practicing on you, thanks," I said, then turned and followed Nagini. I'm fine with all the Dark Magic stuff, but just as long as it doesn't hurt anything. I spend most of my time outside with animals, so I don't hurt them when I can avoid it.

I'm not sure why I didn't just curse Mom. She obviously didn't mind, in fact, she wanted to be cursed. It would have made things a lot easier.

I got to my room and opened the door, to find Nagini sitting by the fire with her favorite children, Occidere and Sanguinem. Occidere raised her head as I entered.

"_What's he mad about this time?"_ she asked.

Occidere, unlike most of her family, is peaceful, but she still finds it amusing when Dad always finds something to get annoyed with every day.

"_I cursed him instead of Mom,"_ I said, sitting down next to her. Occidere and her brother were a year old, and were almost as big as Nagini.

Sanguinem and Nagini were asleep, so I took out another book and continued to practice spells. I was improving pretty fast; I'd mastered all the easy spells I'd tried out so far. Occidere was watching me with interest.

I didn't realize I'd stayed up until one o'clock until I tried a charm to turn my clock purple. It was so much fun to be able to do magic at last. I changed and went to bed, wondering whether Mom and Dad heard me. I kind of hoped they did. I wanted them to know that yes, I _could_ do magic.

At first, my 'lessons' went very well. I gave in and just did the spells on Mom, like I was supposed to (Nagini had a habit of disappearing every lesson). I mastered all the first-year-level jinxes Dad taught me, and I was beginning on the second-year-level when he decided to start training me in Dark Magic.

Dad said I was a very fast learner, because it only took me eight days to master the five spells he showed me (I know that might not seem like a lot, but it takes more than five minutes to learn magic). What he didn't know is that I stayed up until two o'clock every night practicing.

My lessons in the Dark Arts didn't go half as well. Dad didn't want to practice Dark spells on Mom (I wouldn't curse her with Dark magic anyway), and instead wanted to bring in a deer. I flatly refused to even point my wand at the poor animal, and cursed Dad instead. Mom was going to curse me, but he stopped her and did it himself (not the most wonderful experience). He also decided to stop giving me lessons. And then, for all my trouble, Nagini ate the deer!

As much as I didn't want to go, I was packed for England. None of my snakes would be coming except for Nagini, because she's Dad's Horcrux (he somehow put a piece of his soul in her).

Two days before the journey, Mom called me into her room while Dad was in town.

"Sit down," she instructed. I sat on the bed next to her, while Nagini curled around us. Mom looked at the snake in disgust before facing me again.

"I'm going to tell you about your father and I," she said. "We haven't told you about our lives in England before, but now that we are moving there, he has seen fit to tell you."

"Mom, I already know he was the most feared Dark Wizard in all of Europe. And I know his name was Lord Voldemort," I said.

"How.. how did you...?"

"He told me when I asked him why he wants you to call him Voldemort and other people to call him Marvolo. When he refused to tell me more, though, I went and asked Nagini."

"So she told you... everything?" Mom sounded a bit disappointed."

"Yeah, mostly," I said. I remembered the conversation from three years ago as if it had been yesterday.

"She told you about your father's return to power?"

"Yes."

"And the breakout from Azkaban?"

"Yes."

"And Harry Potter?"

"Yes."

"And when...?"

_"Yes, _Mom, Nagini's told me everything, all right?"

"Nagini doesn't know everything," Mom sniffed.

_ "Oh, yes I do, Bella,"_ Nagini hissed. _"I know things about the Dark Lord you've never dreamed of..."_

Fortunately, Mom can't understand Parseltongue.

Finally, it was time. We were going to England. I'd given a bunch of Nagini's eggs to a Muggle village so they could continue to breed Rare and Venomous Giant Albanian Snakes.

We travelled by Apparating from country to country, because apparently, England is too far away to get there in one shot. Mom took me and Nagini using Side-Along-Apparation, while Dad took all our luggage.

"Okay, let's go over the plan one more time," said Dad as he Apparated beside us near London. All four of us had to memorize our cover-up story, even Nagini.

"You guys are Belle and Marvolo Black, Nagini's name is Hibou, but I'm still Kamara," I recited. "We're from America and I'm half-blood, Dad is a Mudblood and his nose got cut off in an accident at work," I paused again, trying to think what else. "Oh, and Dad and I are both albino, and Mom, your mother is a Parseltongue and it usually skips a generation."

It was Nagini's idea to have me be a half-blood. Dad really didn't like the idea about his being a Mudblood, but she somehow talked him into it, saying that I'm not a pureblood anyway (Dad's halfblood, so I guess I'm three-quarters blood or something).

We Apparated with all our stuff to the Lestranges' Manor, where Mom used to live. It was huge, the biggest house I'd ever seen. I walked inside slowly, enjoying the effect. Nagini slithered luxuriously onto a sofa and stretched.

"Kamara, there are four guest rooms, the biggest one is up on the fourth floor," said Mom. "That one can be yours, unless you'd prefer a different one."

"Yes, Kamara, take your stuff up to your room," Dad told me. "And Nagini, if you really want to just sit on that couch..."

_"Yes, I do,"_ said Nagini, without moving. _"I'm trying to sleep."_

"Come, my Lord, let me show you the rest of the house," Mom said as I started up the stairs.

This house was humongous. Green and silver tapestries hung from the wall (Slytherin colors, I remembered). I stood there, taking in the appearance of the magnificent hall for a few minutes before starting up a second flight of stairs. I climbed a third flight of stairs and found myself on the fourth floor.

My room was beautiful. It too was draped in Slytherin colors. There was a large and very comfortable-looking bed at one end with green and silver sheets. There was also a wardrobe, desk, and bookshelf, all green and silver. A full-length mirror stood beside the wardrobe. I sat on the bed, smiling. The room was already decorated to my taste.

I memorized what my door looked like, then went to get my luggage. I had somehow managed to cram all my possessions into four trunks (I know that seems like a lot, but Mom and Dad have more than twice that amount between them). I heaved one trunk after another up three flights of stairs and into my room, but once I got there, I couldn't help smiling. My desire to not be in England had subsided a bit. I loved this house.

** Please review! This is the first story I've published so it might not be that good, please point out if something doesn't make sense. I've tried to follow the Harry Potter books exactly, if I forgot something please tell me.**


	2. Chapter 2: Going to Hogwarts

**If I owned ****Harry Potter, it would say Amber on the cover instead of J. K. Rowling.**

**I copied the Sorting Hat's song directly out of the first book.  
**

Chapter Two

Going to Hogwarts

Considering how much I hadn't wanted to go, I was settling in well. I was becoming accustomed to England - better than Mom, at any rate. She still insisted upon calling Dad, 'my Lord,' even though here, we're basically wanted criminals.

Well, not exactly 'wanted.' Not yet anyway. People think we're dead, and that I don't exist. Mom and Dad explained it all to me the night we arrived.

"Kamara, listen, do you know why we're using a cover story?," Dad asked me as I was pulling my last suitcase up the stairs.

"Yes," I snarled, annoyed at being addressed as though I was five years old.

"Well, there is more to it than that I'm just a Dark Wizard. The wizarding world thinks I'm dead. They think we're all dead."

"I know."

"And I don't think Nagini told you how we survived, because she doesn't really know herself."

_ "Actually, I think I do, seeing as I came up with most of it,"_ Nagini hissed, coming over from the living room. Dad ignored her.

"So, basically, after I had Nagini kill Snape, she suggested that just in case, she go and hide in the Malfoy Manor."

_ "But I think what I said was more like 'this is really boring, can I...?'"_

"I wasn't asking for your exact words, Nagini. As I was saying, Kamara, I called two followers to me. They were already Imperiused, so I gave them each some Polyjuice Potion - Nagini brought it with us as a precaution. I put my fingernail clippings into one bottle and a bit of Bellatrix's hair into another. I told them I would summon them if they were needed, if I sensed danger. I Summoned a green anaconda out of the nearest zoo and used it to replace Nagini."

"Later, after I killed Potter, or thought I did, and I had almost taken over Hogwarts, he disappeared and the Longbottom boy slayed the snake. I summoned my two Imperiused followers. They drank the Polyjuice Potion and pretended to be me and Bellatrix while we escaped."

"We took Bellatrix's share of gold out of the Lestranges' vault and moved to Albania. That's where we had you," he finished.

"So, the imposters... they're dead?"

"Yes, and thank goodness for that!" said Mom. "If they weren't, the Ministry would still be looking for us!" I nodded and continued to drag my trunk up the stairs. Mom and Dad obviously thought what they did was rather impressive. To me, it seemed cowardly. I can hardly say it's below them, but I've always tried to block out what Mom and Dad did in the past, because no matter who they are, they're still my parents. This new bit of information hardly disturbed me; I knew both Mom and Dad could easily kill someone without a backward glance.

Three days after our arrival, Mom woke me up at 6:00. At first I didn't recognize her; she'd dyed her hair blonde, brushed it and tied it back. She was also wearing pink robes and a lot of makeup. Mom never wore makeup.

"Don't mind the costume," she snapped. "I've become Belle Black so I can get you registered at Hogwarts."

She left the room so I could get dressed, then we went downstairs. Dad was waiting for us, looking the same as always.

"Aren't you coming?" I asked.

"No, I'm too obvious. I've just got to fix your hair and makeup before you go."

I made a face. "Makeup?"

"Yes, Kamara, makeup," he said. "And get used to it, you're going to wear it every day at school. I want you looking as normal as possible." He got a hairbrush and was raking it through my hair as Mom put on my makeup.

"We were going to have you wear pink too," she said. "But Nagini said you shouldn't because you're going to dress normally at school anyway... right?" she added, looking at Dad.

"Something like that," Dad gave up on my hair and passed the brush to Mom. She finished my makeup and, after ten minutes, succeeded in brushing my hair.

Looking in the mirror, I discovered I really did look a lot prettier under the influence of makeup. I still wasn't sure if it was worth wasting so much time every day, though.

We left the house and walked down the road (I noticed Mom was wearing pink high heels and had to stop myself from laughing).

"We're going to Apparate into Hogsmeade, it's a village near Hogwarts," Mom said, taking hold of my arm. We appeared in what must be Hogsmeade. Mom led me through an alley and up a wide road to a castle.

"Is that Hogwarts?"

"Yes."

We walked up the rather long road to Hogwarts until we reached a pair of wrought iron gates, which were flanked with pillars topped by winged boars. Mom knocked daintily (I suppose Belle Black is a dainty, girly-girl) but when no one came, it looked as though it took her a great deal of effort not to bang and shake the gate.

After waiting a few minutes, Mom fired pink sparks into the sky. At long last, a woman with greenish skin and long-fingered hands came walking toward the gate.

"Is she a goblin?" I asked Mom quietly. I'd never seen one (they don't live in Albania much), but I'd read about goblins.

"No, they're different," Mom whispered back. "But she does look similar."

The woman reached the gate and opened it with a few spells.

"Hello," she said. "What are you here for?"

"I'm Belle Black, I've come to register my daughter Kamara with the headmistress," said Mom.

"I'm Professor Cobolorum, Kamara, I'm going to be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," she said, extending a hand to me.

Professor Cobolorum led us into a magnificent hall, then turned and walked down a corridor. We rounded a corner, where a man emerged from a classroom, clutching a stack of papers.

"Hi, Neville," Professor Cobolorum said brightly before turning to us to introduce us. "This is Professor Longbottom, he'll be your Herbology teacher." I felt Mom start at the name, and she gave the man a malevolent stare as he hurried away.

We reached a corridor with a stone gargoyle at the end of it. Approaching the gargoyle, Professor Cobolorum muttered what was evidently a password, for the gargoyle sprung forward to reveal a spiral staircase slowly going upward.

We stepped onto it and were brought upwards to a door with a brass knocker. Professor Cobolorum knocked twice before a brisk voice called "Come in."

A woman was sitting behind the desk, looking at us sternly over square-rimmed spectacles. Her office was surprisingly neat.

"Ms. Black here to see you, Professor. She wants to register her daughter," said Professor Cobolorum.

"Yes, hello, Ms. Black. I -"

"My daughter's name is Kamara Black, she wasn't registered before because we're from America and moved here a week ago," Mom cut in, her voice impatient.

"I see," said Professor McGonagall, her eyebrows raised. "Well, you're quite sure Kamara has magical talent, then?"

"Yes, I am! Kamara, show her!"

I obliged, pulling out my wand and levitating a quill on Professor McGonagall's desk. I'd only learned the spell a few days ago so the result wasn't quite as good as I'd wanted, but the quill still floated a good five inches.

"All right, then," said Professor McGonagall. "Here's your acceptance letter." Mom took it, and we headed out.

I opened the letter once we got home.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of_WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Minerva McGonagall

Dear _,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Filius Flitwick

_Deputy Headmaster_

"We don't have to send them an owl," said Dad, reading over my shoulder.

"I know."

"Bella, could you drop her off at Diagon Alley?" Dad said, completely ignoring me.

"Certainly, my Lord."

"I'm not 'my Lord' anymore, we're in England."

Dad has started telling her not to call him 'my Lord' every time she does now that we're in England, but it hasn't stopped her. I can't remember one time when Mom's called Dad Marvolo or Voldemort.

She took my arm and Apparated in front of a small pub.

"Just go to the courtyard, tap the brick three up and two to the left from the trash can three times," Mom whispered, shoving a bag of gold into my hands.

"Aren't you coming with me?"

"No, just buy everything on your list, don't come home with more than one pet," she said before disapparating.

It wasn't any more than I expected, plus Mom must be dying to get out of her Belle Black disguise, but I had basically no idea what to do. I walked uncertainly into the pub, wishing Nagini was here.

"Excuse me, could you help me get to Diagon Alley?" I asked the bartender. He nodded and led me out into the courtyard.

"Just tap this brick three times," he instructed. "And where's your mom?"

"She's busy," I said, tapping the brick as instructed. A small hole appeared in the brick, which quickly formed into a grand archway.

"Wow," I said softly. The old bartender chuckled.

"First time to Diagon Alley, eh?"

"I don't live in London," I said. I turned and walked slowly down the cobbled street. Looking over my shoulder, I saw the archway melting back into the wall.

I took a second piece of parchment from the Hogwarts envelope and read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of_ WITCHCRAFT_ and_ WIZARDRY

Uniform

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags.

Course Books

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_

by Miranda Goshawk

_A History of Magic_ by Bathilda Bagshot

_ One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_

by Phyllida Spore

_ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_

by Newt Scamander

_A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration_ by Emeric Switch

_Basic Defenses: Protection Against the Dark Arts_ by Tidak Penting

_ Magical Drafts and Potions_ by Arsenius Jigger

_Magical Theory_ by Adalbert Waffling

Other Equipment

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

Bathilda Bagshot. The name rang a bell. I remembered that Dad killed her, then put Nagini inside her dead body to guard Godric's Hollow. Putting this unpleasant bit of information out of my head, I headed for the nearest shop, a bookstore called Flourish and Blotts.

I found all the books on my list without much difficulty, then stayed a few moments longer to examine all the amazing books. There were books the size of postage stamps, books as big as paving stones; some books had nothing in them at all. I wondered who exactly bought these.

I also got a few extra spellbooks, quills, and ink that changed from green to silver while you wrote. No one will be able to decipher my writing this way.

I stopped at a shop called Madam Malkin's to get robes. While a witch pinned up my robes, a boy with neon green hair and a lady who must be his mother walked into the shop. After looking over the boy, who seemed to be about my age, I noticed his mother had a striking resemblance to Bellatrix, except she seemed to have mastered the use of the hairbrush.

"Hi," the boy said brightly. "I'm Teddy. Teddy Lupin. What's your name?"

"Kamara Black," I said, a little taken aback by his friendliness.

He hopped onto a stool as another witch started pinning up his robes.

"Is this your first year at Hogwarts, too?"

"Yes," I said, trying to act friendly. "So... which House are you going to be in?" I asked, trying to think of something I knew about Hogwarts.

"Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. You?"

"I'm not sure. I think I'm more like a Slytherin, really. I don't know too much about it, though. I'm from America, you see," I didn't add that I was Slytherin's heir, or that Mom and Dad might take me out if I got in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff.

I remembered Nagini analyzing the Houses this morning. _"Basically, if all four Houses need something, but it's in, say, a trap, this is what they'll do," _she said._ "Gryffindor the brave jumps into the trap, sacrificing himself to get whatever it is that they need. However, he didn't get it and broke his back in the process. So they all pull him out of the trap and send him to a hospital."_

_"Then Ravenclaw uses her intelligence to get whatever it is out of the trap. Hufflepuff says they should split it evenly. Slytherin volunteers to divide whatever it is, but runs away with it, or keeps it all for himself."_

"So you're 'sly and cunning', then?" Teddy asked.

"I suppose."

"You're all done, dear," said the witch fixing my robes.

I stepped off the stool, muttered 'bye' to Teddy, and left the shop.

I stopped to get a potions kit, cauldron, phials, a telescope, and a set of scales. I also got a sketchbook. I'm an okay drawer, and I need a new one so that people don't ask me why all my drawings are of giant snakes (I got good at drawing during the times when all Nagini wants to do is sit in a tree and stare into space).

I didn't even consider getting a pet. I'd decided days ago I didn't want a companion to take to Hogwarts. Well, I did, but Nagini couldn't come with me, of course. I thought about getting five owls just to annoy Mom and Dad, but they would probably wind up being snake food.

After stopping at a restaurant, I realized Mom never said when she would be coming back for me. She and Dad were probably having fun at home, until Nagini finally realizes I'm not there (not that she's dumb, but Nagini knows that I'm shopping and has probably assumed Mom and Dad haven't completely forgotten about that).

I'd waited an hour and a half before I heard a man's voice calling my name. I jumped up, dropping my bag. A bearded man was walking toward me. I looked at him in terror as I drew my wand...

_"Don't take that out, I'm your father, Kamara!"_ he spat. I lowered the wand slowly. He'd just spoken Parseltonuge... in Dad's voice.

_"Dad?"_

_ "Yes, Kamara, there are such things as disguises. Now come on,"_ he snapped, lowering his dark sunglasses. I could see his eyes - Dad's eyes. No one else has red eyes with vertical pupils. I breathed a sigh of relief and picked up my bag.

"Where were you?" he asked as we walked down a side alley.

"Just waiting," I said, nodding toward the ice cream parlor I had been sitting at. "You never told me when you were picking me up, you know."

He just sighed and continued walking, stopping when we reached the end of the alley.

"Hold onto my arm, we're Apparating."

I did, and we appeared in front of the Lestrange Manor. Nagini was sitting in an overgrown tree in the front yard. I walked away from Dad and went to join her.

_"You're the one who told them I was still in Diagon Alley, aren't you?"_ I asked as I climbed up to sit beside her. Even in its untrimmed state, this tree wasn't very tall.

_"Yeah,"_ she sounded bored, as if all there was to do in England was sit here. That's probably what she does, I reminded myself. I'd found plenty of things to do, I'd been learning a bunch of new jinxes (easy ones, but it was still fun), but there wasn't much for Nagini to do. Due to the fact that Mom and Dad are criminals, and there aren't that many wild, huge snakes in England, none of us are allowed to leave the house.

_"You don't like England much, do you?"_ I asked.

_"No,"_ she admitted. _"But after you finish school, it's going to get a lot more interesting."_

_ "You mean Dad's going to try to take over again?"_

_ "Half his Death Eaters are still alive, why not? Bellatrix wants to, anyway."_

_ "But she's going to have to be peaceful for seven years, though,"_ I said._ "Are you sure she's capable of that?"_

_ "That's Voldemort's plan, not as though it's going to work. They're probably going to do something stupid like try to get the other Death Eaters out of Azkaban and get themselves killed. I've told them they need to go back to Albania, but..."_

I nodded. Dad was doing okay, but all Mom ever talked about was gathering followers and taking over again. I just hope she doesn't do something to get us caught.

On the first of September, Mom dropped me off at King's Cross Station and Apparated home right away. She hadn't disguised herself properly, saying that all she needed to do was drop me off.

I walked through platform nine and ten without much difficulty, hoping no one saw me, because I wasn't making a huge effort not to be seen. I was already wearing my wizard robes.

Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters was crowded with students and their families seeing them off. I pulled my heavy trunk toward a magnificent scarlet steam engine, the Hogwarts Express.

I found an empty compartment and heaved my trunk into the luggage rack, then dropped onto a seat and silently watched the people outside. The train started moving as the last people clambered on.

I watched the scenery fly past, wishing Nagini was here. As much as I wanted to go to Hogwarts, I would feel much better if my fuzzy wuzzy peaceful innocent little snakie was here with me.

"Excuse me, can I sit here?" A girl was standing in the compartment door way. She was rather pretty, with blond hair and blue eyes. She had already sewn a Slytherin patch onto her black robes.

"Sure."

"I'm Sapphire Tulen," she said, holding out her hand as she sat across from me.

"Kamara Les - Kamara Black," I said, remembering my new name at the last minute. Sapphire, however, didn't notice, as she had just screamed.

"A snake!"

"What?"

A small garden snake slithered out from under the seat. Sapphire pulled her legs up onto the seat.

_"This... strange hole..."_ hissed the snake. Then, noticing us, it curled back and shook its tail._ "Ssss... I'm fierce rattlesnake... better watch out..."_

_ "Sure you are," _I said, picking up the little snake and placing it on the seat next to me. Sapphire gasped.

"You're a... a Parselmouth?"

"Oh," I said, at a loss for words. I shouldn't have showed her. "Er... yeah. Yeah, I'm a Parselmouth."

"You're not related to Salazar Slytherin, are you?" she asked, looking impressed.

"Salazar Slytherin? No, I don't think so. I'm from America, my parents didn't like the wizarding school there."

"You're American? Cool! Does everyone from America look like that?" Sapphire said. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean it that way, I just..." she trailed off, looking embarrassed.

I laughed. "It's fine. I'm albino, that's all, mostly people in America look normal."

Sapphire smiled apologetically and quickly changed the subject. We talked about Quidditch for a few minutes before a girl opened the door to our compartment.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked. I moved over to make space. She had flowing, light brown hair and dark eyes.

"I'm Heidi Setia," she said.

We introduced ourselves, then Sapphire asked abruptly "Are you two pureblood?"

"Half-blood," was my immediate reply.

"l... well... I think my great-great-grandmother..." Heidi muttered.

"So you're a mudblood?"

"Well... yes," said Heidi, suddenly defensive. "But if that's all you care about-"

"No, it's fine," Sapphire muttered, blushing. She stared at the floor. They sat in an awkward silence as I stroked the snake now curled in my lap.

A plump witch came pushing a trolley, asking if we'd like anything. Heidi and I got a wide array of things, but Sapphire was still staring at the ground.

"Hey, Sapphire, it doesn't matter," said Heidi a few minutes later, when Sapphire still hadn't looked up. "Come on, have a chocolate frog..."

_Well,_ I thought, as Heidi threw a frog to Sapphire,_ she's a lot more friendly than I am..._

It began to get dark as the hours passed. The train slowed and stopped, we got off onto a tiny platform. I looked around, wondering where to go next, when I heard a voice behind us.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" a giant man was calling. I scrambled over to him behind Heidi and Sapphire.

The man led us down a steep, winding path. It was dark, which bothered most people, but it suited me just fine. My eyes are kind of funny; I've got really good eyesight, even in the dark, which you wouldn't expect when my eyes are bloodred.

The path opened suddenly on to the edge of a huge lake. On top of a mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling, stood the castle with many towers and turrets.

"No more'n four to a boat," the man called, pointing to a fleet of little boats floating on the lake. I got in one with Sapphire and Heidi; fortunately, no one came in with us. The boats started floating of their own accord across the lake at the giant man's command.

"Heads down!" he called as the first boats reached the cliff; the boats glided through a curtain of ivy that hid an opening in the cliff face. We drifted through a long dark tunnel which seemed to be underneath the castle, then the boats stopped at a kind of harbor.

As we got off the boats, a tiny little guy came down a flight of crude stone steps.

"I can take them to the castle, Hagrid," he squeaked. I saw a small name tag on the front of his robes that said Professor Flitwick. He led us up the stairs, coming out onto grass right in front of the castle. He jumped to reach the door handle.

The entrance hall was huge; I could barely make out the ceiling. We were led through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. It was lit by thousands of candles floating above four long house tabes, each draped in their colors: Gryffindor in gold and scarlet on the far right, them Ravenclaw in bronze and blue, Hufflepuff, canary yellow and black, and Slytherin, green and silver. I would be sitting at the last table in a few minutes.

Professor Flitwick was now bringing out a stool an extremely old, dirty, and frayed hat. Everyone seated around the table was watching the hat. It twitched, then a wide rip near the brim opened like a mouth - and it began to sing:

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Sytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song.

Professor Flitwick was now calling names off a list.

"Anderson, Amy!"

A girl walked up from the middle of the line and put the Sorting Hat on her head. It fell down over her eyes.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" bellowed the hat. The Hufflepuff table cheered as Amy got off the stool and hurried to sit down.

"Audelo, Richard!"

A boy ran up to the stool and eagerly jammed the hat on his head.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Avery, Darius!"

A confident-looking boy with black hair walked up to the Sorting Hat.

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Bailey, Zoe!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Bell, Rosa!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Black, Kamara!"

I walked up to the stool and sat down, trying not to look nervous or frightened. I pulled the Sorting Hat on quickly, trying to hide my mess of tangled hair.

"What do we have here?" I jumped as I heard a small voice in my head. "You're trying to hide something... You're the daughter of Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange?"

_And you won't tell anyone_, I thought fiercely. _Because if you do..._

"I won't, that's your business, isn't it? Now, which House shall I put you in? You're pretty intelligent, and..."

_Just put me in Slytherin, I'm his effing descendent!_

"Well, I suppose that would suit you, even if you weren't his heir. All right, SLYTHERIN!"

The hat shouted the last word aloud. I took it off and sat down at the Slytherin table. I watched in anticipation as Heidi and Sapphire were sorted. Both got into Slytherin. The boy I met in Diagon Alley, Teddy Lupin, got into Gryffindor.

Professor McGonagall called for the feast to begin. Food appeared on the plates and we all started eating. I was still getting used to Engish foods, but this was delicious.

Professor McGonagall stood up as the last of the desserts disappeared off the plates.

"Welcome, Hogwarts students. I'd like to welcome a new teacher, Hermione Granger. Professor Granger will be filling in for Professor Nulla, who unfortunately has got a bad case of spattergroit."

The hall broke into applause as Professor Granger stood up.

"She's going to teach us?" Sapphire said. "That's almost as good as having Harry Potter!"

"Why?"

"She fought You-Know-Who with him, didn't she?"

"Oh... oh yeah," I said, and turned to glare at Professor Granger.

"For those of you that are interested, Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term," said Professor McGonagall, causing the muttering that had broke out to cease. "First years, you should know that you are not allowed into the Forbidden Forest, and there is a blanket ban on all items from the joke shop Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Now, off to bed!"

All the Slytherin first years followed the prefects leading us to the dungeons where our common room was. I got to my dormitory that I shared with Heidi and Sapphire, as well as three other girls. My trunk was next to the bed which was closest to the wall. I sat down on the silver and green sheets right away. I was tired, even though it wasn't that late.

"Hi," one of the other girls said brightly to me. "I'm Anna, Anna Molestus."

"Kamara Black."

We all introduced ourselves before going to bed. Elizabeth Falva was blonde and very pretty. She seemed to know Sapphire, and the two didn't like each other much. Kayla Pinar was African-American and she loved books (she told everyone this at least twice). Anna Molestus had short, curly red hair and was _very_ friendly... a little too friendly for my liking.

I laid back on my four-poster bed and wriggled under the covers, closing my eyes. I could hear Kayla and Anna chatting a few beds away from me and rolled over. I wasn't feeling homesick, I told myself. I liked Hogwarts. It would just be better if Nagini was here.

**Sorry I haven't updated in forever, it took me a while to write this chapter (it's 4,700 words!), and then I had some trouble uploading it.**

**I feel really stupid for asking this, but if you have an idea on how the story should end... I've only planned up to a few months after Chirstmas vacation. Thanks!  
**


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